Thursday, January 15, 2009

Doing my female humorist homework

Moscow's public library is terrible; I knew that before, but I hoped it had gotten better since I last . went there. When I saw Guns, Germs and Steel on the new books rack, I knew I was in a real no-man's land. I've never taken advantage of its networking with other local libraries, but when the only book I could get excited enough about was Sammy's Hill by Kristin Gore, I had to request a couple of books from area libraries. When Gore's book first came out in '04, (and who wasn't sick to death of Gores by then?) I didn't even consider reading it. But then I started watching Futurama, and figured that she had some good humor cred from that. I was afraid it would be a Primary Colors-esque satire of the Clinton administration that would fly over my head, since I was pretty young during that era. I'm a couple of chapters in, and it seems so far like run-of-the-mill self-deprecating female humor set on Capitol Hill. (She goes to work with two different shoes on! How outrageous!)

I've never actually read anything Dorothy Parker wrote, so since my book arrived today, I'm about to start.

In the same vein of audacious female authors, I got ahold of Emily Hahn's autobiography. I read and was very moved by a biography of her a few years ago, but I'd rather get the story in her own voice. I'm wary of her colonialist adventures in Congo (I believe) and Hong Kong, but if I can't stand some racism in my white, 20th century female authors, I'm cutting out a huge amount of potential reading.

I'm going to get a card to use the UI library, which is really very decent, and could use some recommendations, since there are so many books I should have read by now and have not. I had a borrower's card for UI a few years ago, but was so embarrassed that I lost a book of theirs that I never went back.